As 2018 recedes into history, it’s time for a look back at the news stories that interested Door County residents the most during the past year.

Below are the Door County Advocate’s top 10 stories of 2018 ranked based on the number of times they were read online. Included are reports of peninsula landmarks going up for sale, crime investigations and a proposed national park.

No. 10: Former coach arrested on sex crime charges

In January, it was reported that former Gibraltar Area Schools teacher and girls basketball coach Mark Aune was arrested the prior December on sex crime charges. The charges included indecent behavior with juveniles, computer solicitation of a minor and attempted juvenile pornography.

Aune had been with Gibraltar for 10 years before being laid off from his teaching position at the end of the 2009-10 school year. He had worked as a physical education teacher and girls basketball coach at Gibraltar High School. At the time of his arrest, he lived in Opelousas, Louisiana, and worked as head basketball coach and athletic director at Academy of the Sacred Heart.

No. 9: Child neglect, more than 300 nitrous oxide canisters

In March, a Sturgeon Bay mother charged with giving her child nitrous oxide was sentenced to four years of probation in Door County Circuit Court.

Katherine M. Johnson, 39, was arrested after officers responded to a child neglect complaint and found more than 300 nitrous oxide canisters in her home. Johnson told the authorities she used the nitrous oxide while meditating; her 6-year-old child told authorities about inhaling the substance with Johnson on a daily basis.

Johnson eventually pleaded no contest to charges of distribution of a hazardous substance and giving nitrous oxide to someone under the age of 21.

No. 8: Charged with a murder-for-hire plot

Michael J. Estevez(Photo: Courtesy of Door County Sheriff's Office)

Also in March, it was reported that Elizabeth Huettl and Michael J. Estevez of Egg Harbor had been charged in a murder-for-hire plot. The two were arrested in February by the Door and Kewaunee Drug Task Force for trafficking heroin to a confidential drug task force informant.

Authorities later received information that Estevez allegedly solicited a third party individual to kill the person he believed to be the drug task force informant. Subsequent investigation led to authorities obtaining recordings and documents supporting the allegations.

Huettl and Estevez were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide and also faced an array of drug charges from their initial arrests in February.

No. 7: Got $15 million to spend?

One of Door County’s oldest family-owned resorts went on sale in April, entering the market with a price tag of $15 million. The Alpine Resort and Golf Course was owned by the Bertschinger family for 96 years and included half a mile of Egg Harbor beach frontage and 250 acres of land. The resort also had a lodge, tennis courts, a heated pool and other amenities.

The resort and golf course were expected to remain fully operational during the sale process.

Aerial view of the Alpine Resort and Golf Course property for sale for $15 million.(Photo: Courtesy of NAI Pfefferle)

No. 6: Will Door County get a new national park?

The Friends of the Grand Traverse Islands proposed in October the creation of a national park that included five islands in northern Door County. The group’s plan was to utilize public land at the northern tip of the Door Peninsula to link additional public lands on Plum, Pilot, Detroit, Washington and Rock islands into a park that would also include several islands along the coast of Michigan.

If created, the new national park was anticipated to bring 30 full-time jobs and about $20 million in spending to the region.

No. 5: Another resort for sale

Aerial view of Little Sister Resort, Sister Bay, which was listed for sale July 12, 2018.(Photo: Courtesy of NAI Pfefferle)

Another Door County resort site, this one in Sister Bay, went on sale in July. The Little Sister Resort and Fred & Fuzzy’s Waterfront Bar & Grill, along with 600 feet of beach property known as Pebble Beach, were offered to potential buyers for a total of $8.55 million.

The three properties included 1,000 feet of Door County shoreline; the Little Sister Resort included a pier and established woods of cedar trees.

No. 4: Ten arrested in drug investigation

Ten people were arrested in February in the towns of Egg Harbor and Sturgeon Bay following a three-month drug investigation by the Door and Kewaunee Drug Task Force. The suspects were arrested for trafficking heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine and/or prescription narcotics.

No. 3: How a community of strangers came together to rescue a farm

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Dale and Karen Cihlar, left, along with their son Ethan Lautenbach, right, and their grandson David Baxter, center, are working to help the Cihlar family farm in Clay Banks, southern Door County, remain afloat. Wearing a boot cast for an unrelenting injury, Dale Cihlar will be forced off his feet for rehab following foot surgery. David has been helping to fill the workforce gap.(Photo: Tina M. Gohr/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin had chronicled the Cihlar family’s dairy farming difficulties in May. The year’s third most-read story was an August update of the Cihlars’ story that revealed a GoFundMe site had raised more than $14,000 for the family, but continued problems meant additional financial help was still needed.

The story about the family and its farm in Clay Banks also reported on the larger issue of struggling dairy farmers and the closure of dairy farms throughout Wisconsin. In response, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker had created a state task force that met for the first time in August with the mission to make recommendations on how to improve the plight of the state’s dairy farmers.

No. 2: Everyone's favorite goat-roofed restaurant

Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant & Butik was named winner of the second annual “Best Small Business in America” contest according to Rubicon Global, a sponsor of the contest. The restaurant was to receive a check for $10,000 as the winner.

Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant & Butik in Sister Bay has been declared winner of the "Best Small Business in America" contest.(Photo: Courtesy Door Guide Publishing)

Contest entrants were judged on how they used their businesses as a force for social or environmental good. Al Johnson’s, which serves authentic Swedish and mainstream American “comfort food,” is known for having a grass and sod roof built in Norway and shipped to its location in Sister Bay. The roof has helped reduce the restaurant’s spending on energy and heat.

The restaurant announced that it would donate its $10,000 prize to the Wisconsin Humane Society.

No. 1: When news about the Alpine Resort broke

Bill Bertschinger, 90, with daughters Cindy Bertschinger Livingston of Sturgeon Bay, left, and Emily Pitchford of Jacksonport, are selling the family's Alpine Resort and Golf Course in Egg Harbor. The resort includes 30 cottages and 52 rooms along with a 36-hole golf course on 250 acres. Alpine Resort has been family-owned since it opened in 1922. Tina M. Gohr/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin(Photo: Tina M. Gohr/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

The most-read story of 2018 in Door County reported the Egg Harbor community’s shock at learning that the Alpine Resort and Golf Course, a landmark in the town for nearly 100 years, had gone up for sale.

Members of the Bertschinger family, which had owned the resort from its start, shared their memories of the resort and the difficulty of making the decision to sell. They also spoke of the many friends they had made over the years who had started as resort guests.

An Egg Harbor administrator spoke of the village’s desire to negotiate at some point for a portion of the resort’s sand beach.

Alpine Resort & Golf Course in Egg Harbor has been family-owned since it opened in 1922. It's been a haven for celebrities and everyday folks seeking the peace and beauty found in Door County.
Liz Welter/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin